Beatles movies are a bit like their albums: always revered as timeless works of genius, yet they never quite hit the spot and there's always something not quite right about them. Wherein of course lies much of their charm: The Beatles were never an 'albums band' just as much as they were never actors or born-movie stars. What they did produce howver were some damn fine singles and - more often than not - some pretty good visuals to go with them, even well before the 'video age'. Just as in A Hard Day's Night the most memorable scenes involve their splendid singles (witness the Fab Four frolicking on a cricket pitch to Can't Buy me Love), the movie Help is perhaps most loved and remembered for the skiing antics accompanying Ticket To Ride or (a personal favourite) lolling about in a living room miming along to You've Got To Hide Your Love Away.
The Beatles' second full length movie (sic.) has just been re-issued in restored digital quality on DVD and Blue-ray, with the usual treasure trove of extras surrounding the making of, filming of, restoring of etc.
For those who don't know it's a mid-sixties comedic romp involving the pursuit of a ring worn appropriately by Ringo, taking in various locations, most notably the Austrian mountains and the Bahamas. It's a sort of Marx brothers meets James Bond affair with the inevitable Goon-style British humour. Unsurprisingly The cheeky Beatles later quipped that the film was shot in a "haze of marijuana".
Full info here: thebeatles.com
